ULURP HEARING DETAILS

Two people spoke against The Culver El Estates project at the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) Public Hearing last Thursday evening (July 8th) at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Presided over by Brooklyn Borough President (BP) Marty Markowitz, the hearing was part of the approval process put in motion by Community Board 12’s June 22 43-2 vote to adopt the zoning changes proposed by NYC Planning and dispose of the last 2 parcels of Culver El railway land. That vote would ultimately allow construction of seventeen 4-story buildings of affordable condominium housing in the 50-ft. wide, two-block long Culver El right of way.  The BP  has 30 days in which to complete his  review.  Then, in late August, another hearing will be held before  the NYC Planning Commission, the third  step in the 5-step ULURP process, which when successful, ends in Mayoral approval.

Three people endorsed the project, including CB 12 Variance Committee Vice Chair Yeruchim Silber, and two from South Brooklyn Community Organization (SBCO, the developer and affordable housing division of Agudath Israel): its lawyer, Adam Rothkrug, and its Housing Development director, Chaim Ispael.  Councilman Brad Lander (39th district) arrived late and endorsed it too, but with reservations about some of the zoning decisions and condominium resale options.

GREEN SPACE FOR CULVER EL RESIDENTS

Maggie Tobin, Kensington’s newly seated representative to CB 12, who voted against Culver El at its June meeting "because the project did not include any green space for its residents," handed BP Markowitz photos she'd shot of the area, where she also lives. These included a photo of the 100 people who regularly play soccer Friday nights on 36th Street--a tradition going back 40 years. She told him that while she had been petitioning the city for more green space, that was not the reason she voted against this project.  In spite of her efforts,  she said people “still have no place to play....They have to sit on plastic milk crates because there are no benches.” According to Ms. Tobin, CB 12 ranked near the bottom (49 out of 59) of NYC’s community boards in green areas.

This reporter also spoke, proposing that the 48 parking spaces currently designated for “community service organizations” in HPD's Culver El Estates plan be placed underground,  thus freeing up space for a landscaped pocket park or plaza on its surface, with seating, café, game tables and play equipment for the kids—a benefit to the new residents of Culver El Estates and all the current inhabitants of the West Kensington/Boro Park neighborhood.

AFFORDABLE CONDOS IN PERPETUITY

Mr. Lander proposed restricting condominium resale to income-eligible families beyond the current 15-yr restriction, saying future families should benefit from this project too, thus providing  our community “affordable homeownership…in
perpetuity.”

Earlier Adam Rothkrug spoke in support of the 15-yr resale restriction and discouraged any deviation from past practices, saying he’d developed over 500 affordable rental housing with little turnover.

BP Markowitz also asked HPD Project Manager Eunice Suh, “What assurance do we have that housing that starts off affordable remains that way 15 yrs down the line?” Later he asked Councilman Lander, “Why not develop Bergament as affordable housing?”

Mr. Lander explained that the inclusion of the Bergament Department store building in the approved rezoning without a public benefit requirement meant that Bergament could be replaced by  a 7-story building with 150 parking spaces, plus more for residents, and ground-floor retail with no stipulation for affordable housing or public space. And it could be done without further public review.  Instead, he urged  that Bergament be excluded from the rezoning proposals.

DOME PLAYGROUND RENOVATION

To address the negligible amount of green in HPD’s design for Culver El estates, Councilman Lander proposed reducing the 48 parking spaces, adding a rooftop playground, and announced he'd gotten funding for the renovation of DOME playground: $650,000 recently approved in the NYC budget with an additional $300,000 from the Boro President Marty Markowitz.

IMPACT OF ZONING CHANGES

David Parish, planner at the NYC Planning Commission’s Brooklyn Office, briefly explained zoning changes involved in Culver El, and the disposal of the two Culver El parcels to the developer, SBCO.  These will alter an area of mixed commercial and light manufacturing to one of medium density residential and would thus permit development of underdeveloped and vacant sites at various heights, as well as new retail along 13th Avenue.  The rezoned area  is bound  by 36th Street, 12th Avenue, 39th Street, 14th Avenue, Old New Utrecht Road, and a few additional blocks.

Light manufacturing will continue in a special mixed-used district, similar to those in Dumbo, Tribeca, and Williamsburg. Many businesses already there will be grandfathered in but with limitations on noxious uses. The zoning changes will also allow “homeowners to modestly expand their homes.” For convenience, HPD divided the Culver El parcels into 14 lots, with 3 assigned to the 48 parking spots.

NEXT STEPS

Before this project can proceed, the developer and HPD must file an application for variances at the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals to reduce backyard size requirement and a height variance. CB 12 will hold separate hearing(s) for these.

Located on two city blocks along the south side of 37th Street, the 68-unit Culver El Estates will be built on a 50-ft wide strip starting at Old New Utrecht Road, near 14th Avenue, running north to 12th Avenue. Each building will provide parking for 50% of the units, as required by City Planning rules.

24,050 SQ. FT. FOR PARKING?

On the other hand, the Culver El Estates affordable housing proposal awards “neighborhood community facilities,”  24,050 sq. ft. on which to park 48 cars.  This despite what those involved in the planning discussions at the CB 12 meeting termed a tight narrow space, necessitating careful planning.  Participants said they had to reduce NYC City Planning land stipulations for front, back and side yards and increase building height to 4 stories in a 2-story area in order to arrive at the desired number of condos.
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